Resolutions and Statements - Details

22.12.2016

The Prime Role of Culture and the Arts in Society

The European Social Partners in the Live Performance Committee (Pearle* for the employers and the EAEA (made up of FIA , FIM and UNI-MEI for the unions) adopted a joint statement in 2016 on “The Prime Role of Culture and the Arts in Society”. It is a strong joint call on policy makers to:

-- Invest in culture and the arts, as society needs a flourishing cultural environment to underpin for education, health and well being, cultural memory, creation and creativity;

-- Provide for specific tax regimes, including the abolition of levying withholding taxes in the country of performance, as well as adapted social security, employment schemes and support to (re-)training to help boost the sector and develop incentive measures for corporate and individual giving. As outlined below, such schemes have to be tailored to the working reality of the sector, taking account of its flexible and intermittent nature and ensuring all workers can benefit from it;

- - Continue to promote mobility: the EU has made significant progress and continues to work to better capture mobile workers and their needs in social security and fiscal regimes. The Arts and Culture sector values this work and encourages it to continue;

-- Involve the sectoral social partners in the live performance sector in the policy process and drafting of measures and action plans and, where sectoral social dialogue in EU Member States (by which is meant autonomous dialogue between trade-unions and employers’ organisations in the sector) is missing, to give priority and support to setting up the organisations and relevant fora for social dialogue;

-- Ensure that different domains of legislation do not impede workers in the exercise of their rights, to freedom of association, and access to social dialogue and, where needed, that the EU assists Member States in the process to of adapting or improving legislation